STOCKHOLM – It wasn’t very pretty, but if Papy Abedi staved off a pink slip, he’ll probably take it.

Abedi was able to take his fellow Swede, Besam Yousef, down multiple times in their card-opening fight, and his control on the ground and in the clinch led to a split decision victory – his first in the UFC.

The welterweight bout opened up the preliminary card of today’s UFC on FUEL TV 9 event at Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm. It streamed on Facebook ahead of a main card on FUEL TV.

Both men looked for an early opening, trading inside leg kicks through the first minute of the fight. Ninety seconds in, Yousef landed some good body shots as the two tied up, but Abedi got an inside trip for a takedown and put Yousef on his back to force him to work out of guard. That would be the theme for Abedi in the fight – as would the referee warning the fighters to stay active on the ground.

Yousef tried to scramble to his feet, but Abedi landed a good knee to the body before he could get up. Yousef tried to get some offense off as the round came to a close, but Abedi put him on his back again just before the horn.

Yousef tried to swing over the top early in the second, but Abedi tied him up. There, Yousef landed better in the clinch than he did in the same opportunity in the first. He landed a solid uppercut, and had Abedi defensive as he landed some solid elbows. But not long after, Abedi got Yousef off balance and was able to again take him down. They quickly were warned to stay active, and Abedi briefly postured up looking to land. After a ref standup, Abedi again went for a takedown as Yousef looked to land elbows, but Yousef sprawled out of it as Abedi looked to be noticeably slower late in the second.

Thirty seconds into the third, Yousef kept after Abedi’s body and tied him up. The two traded positions on the fence, but Abedi again got a trip takedown. Yousef quickly tried to get back to his feet, but Abedi landed some good punches to the body in side control. With less than two minutes left, Yousef was able to get a takedown of his own. Abedi controlled his posture and forced a standup with a minute left. Yousef saw Abedi was tired and landed a right hand. But it was way too little, too late as Abedi picked up a pair of 29-28 scores to get the split call.

“My training for the fight went very well, and that was important for the result,” Abedi said. “The plan was to finish in the first round, as that’s what I’d focused on in training. But I’m really pleased to win over three rounds.”

“It was a close fight,” Yousef said. “I did more damage, but he won because of the takedowns. It was a good fight. I hope the fans enjoyed it. I could have let my hands go loose a little more. I rocked him once, but I need to do more of that in the future.”

Abedi (9-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) snapped a two fight skid and won for the first time in the UFC, probably staving off a pink slip in the process. Yousef (6-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) lost for the second straight time, both at the UFC’s events in his home country.